Posts tagged ‘Animals’

Pigs wallow in mud because it feels good to them. Pigs have no sweat glands in their thick skin to serve as a cooling system. Wallowing in mud helps pigs to keep cool on a hot day. The coating of mud also adds a protective layer against the sun and helps keep off biting insects.

Pigs have a reputation of being dirty and stupid because they wallow in mud. But they keep themselves cleaner than most other farm animals. Pigs have been shown to be the most intelligent of all hoofed animals. They can be taught to perform tricks and can even become pets.–Dick Rogers

Cats retract their claws in order to keep them sharp for catching mice and other prey. A cat has a special movable joint at the end of its toes that enables the claws to move in and out. The claws move out when they are needed. When not in use, the cat conceals its claws in little sheaths on its toes and walks softly on the pads of its feet. Claws that can be pulled back so that the sharp points are protected are called retractile claws. Cats sharpen their claws by raking them on furniture and free trunks to remove any ragged edged on the claws.–Dick Rogers

No, despite its name and its barking call, the prairie dog is actually a member of the ground squirrel family. The prairie dog lives in underground burrows in the western United States. These burrows have so many tunnels that people refer to them as towns.

Hundreds of prairie dog families may live in these towns. A mound of dirt surrounds the entrance to each burrow. A prairie dog usually stands guard at the entrance to its burrow. If it spots danger, the prairie dog barks loudly, and they all scramble to their homes for safety.–Dick Rogers

Perhaps the most familiar summer sound-maker of the insect world is the cricket. The common field cricket chirps from grasses in your backyard or from behind is warm stove in your house. Because it has no voice, the cricket must fiddle.

It makes its chirping call by raising one wing like a violin bow and drawing it ever a file-like edge on the other wing. It is the male who makes all the noise.

The female cricket is quiet. The male’s loud fiddling is done to attract the female cricket. She listens to his song with “ears” located on her front legs.–Dick Rogers

The tails of animals are good for many things. Jumping animals, such as cats and kangaroos, use their tails for balance.

Many monkeys use their long tails to help them climb trees. Horses and cows swish away pesky insects with their tails.

A fish swims with its tail, of course, and so do many other water creatures.

A bird without a tail would have a hard time taking of and landing. Dogs give special messages to other dogs by wagging their tails. One kind of wag means, “I’m happy to see you.” Another means, “I’m the boss around here.”–Dick Rogers

No, an ostrich does not hide its head when it is frightened. According to this old belief, the ostrich hides its head in the sand to escape danger, because it feels it is safely hidden.

What this tall bird actually does when it sights possible danger is lie flat on the ground with its long neck stretched out, thus producing a low profile. And enemy may not be able to see the ostrich when it is in this position.

If danger comes too near, the ostrich runs off at top speed. Although an ostrich cannot fly, it can run as fast as 40 miles an hour, and can easily outrun most of its enemies.–Dick Rogers

Yes, fish sleep. Because fish have no eyelids, they cannot close their eyes—and it may look as though they never sleep. Many fish sleep by simply remaining very still in the water.

Others lie on the bottom, resting upright or on their sides. And a few others wriggle into the sand on the floor of the body of water in which they live.

In this way, fish rest their bodies as you and I do when we sleep. If you happen to see a fish lying almost motionless in the water, it is probably asleep. Fish don’t sleep as soundly as humans do, and the slightest disturbance will wake them.–Dick Rogers